From gray to blue… Hagerstown’s Thomas C. Suter

I’m reminded today, via the Western Maryland Historical Library Facebook post, that, 150 years ago, as of March 12, the following hit the Hagerstown newspaper, Herald of Freedom & Torch Light…

It’s an interesting piece, begging some questions, like… “as a Confederate officer, why did he take the oath so quickly?”

Well, that’s part of the problem here. You see… he wasn’t a lieutenant, but was no more than a private. I’ve got no idea how the newspaper came to the conclusion that he was a lieutenant, but let’s take a closer look at Pvt. Suter.

Thomas Clagett Suter was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on September 1, 1842, a son of William H. and Malinda Wilen Suter. As of 1860, at the ripe old age of 18, he was residing in Hagerstown with his parents. A year later (May 20, 1861, to be exact), Suter enlisted in James Stephenson Brown’s Wise (Virginia) Artillery (Confederate), at Harpers Ferry (some service record cards show Harpers Ferry, others show him enlisting on from Virginia (Antietam-focused folks might recall this unit in action there, but that’s beyond the scope of Suter’s service with the unit). Suter was given a 34 day furlough on February 14, 1862, but, as the newspaper clipping indicates, was taken prisoner.

That’s not really the part that makes Suter’s story interesting, however.

When we take into consideration the record of his brother, Charles Martin Suter, we begin to wonder… were these men actually “pressed” into the service of the Confederacy, in early war?

In fact, records show Charles Suter was “enlisted” at Harpers Ferry on May 11, 1861, in J.Q.A. Nadenbousch’s company (Berkeley Border Guards), 2nd Virginia Infantry, yet also show his as absent without leave… three days before he is documented as having enlisted. He was arrested on June 6, and mustered into service on June 30, but absent sick by the July-August muster rolls. By November, Charles was shown as discharged, but there is no indication why.

Thomas Suter's enlistment papers in Co. I, 7th Md. Infantry (Union)

So, back to Thomas.

Yes, he served in the Wise Artillery for a short spell, was captured, and took the oath (at least that’s what the newspaper account relates… there being no record of an oath in his service record). But… by September 17, 1864, he enlisted again, while in Baltimore, with… Co. I, 7th Maryland Infantry (Union)… the same company and regiment in which his brother Charles enlisted in two years earlier (August 14, 1862).

By the time Thomas enlisted, Charles had risen from private to 2nd sergeant (actual promotion to 2nd sergeant having come in September, 1862). After Thomas’ enlistment, brother Charles also rose to 1st sergeant, and by December, to 1st lieutenant. Charles would also be wounded in the breakthrough at Petersburg, on April 1.

Ah, yes, I’ve strayed from Thomas yet again…

Thomas enlisted as a private, and was discharged, in April 1865… as a private.

Both brothers later received pensions for their service with the Union army.

Charles remained in Hagerstown, and became known for his undertaker business, on W. Franklin Street; was a member of the Reno Post, G.A.R. (among other things); and died on January 8, 1909.

Thomas, by 1870, made his way to Licking County, Ohio, where he married, and died, on October 24, 1917.*

It might seem small and trivial to follow the trail of a private’s service, based on a single newspaper clipping that was but a few lines, but by doing so, we’re able to tap into bigger stories… one of them, perhaps, being about Confederates “pressing” men into service in the Virginia borderland counties, at the beginning of the war.

*Regretfully, I have no information about his postwar activities with the G.A.R.

On Feb. 1, 1862, John S. Calvert wrote to Dr. Samuel Godfrey Henkel: “The Genl Assembly is now engaged in maturing a Militia Bill, which, it is likely, will determine who are exempt and who not,- Under the existing law, Gideon Coiner would be exempt if in your employment as a necessary over-seer (as I know he would be) – by a written contract.” On Feb. 8, 1862, S. G. Henkel wrote to son Dr. Caspar Henkel: “I wrote to J. S. Calvert, and got him to call on the Governor in reference to Gideon, but found it no go.”

On Apr. 24, he wrote: “All the old officers that were not reelected are suffered to go home by Gen. Jackson, and we have had quite a stampede of officials — Baylor was elected Col. of the 5th & Harman went home — all sorts of promotions and [unclear: depressions] in one Regt — the Adjutant was made Col. Rev. Dr. R. L. Dabney came here today and was made Adjutant Gen. of this Division…– We are getting our army reorganized and will soon have order out of chaos I suppose -

Thanks, Janet, but I don’t see a connection between your entry and the blog post about the Suter brothers. The Suter brothers were (it appears) pressed into regular service in 1861, and not the militia. There is no indication that either of the men were pre-war militia, and therefore they didn’t fall under being “drafted” (… and the word “drafted” being used here under the understanding that the first of the Confederate conscription acts didn’t begin to play a factor until the spring of 1862).

I have found confusing military records in our files also, taken from Ancestry.com last Apr. when it was free for a week. Some have multiple enlistment dates.

Joseph Coiner b. 25 Apr 1835.
Enlisted as a 3rd Lieutenant on 2 August 1861 at the age of 24.
Commission in Company G, 52nd Infantry Regiment Virginia on 2 Aug 1861.
Promoted to Full Private (Reduced to ranks) on 1 May 1862… (Source 21)

The VA Regimental History Series gives this for him, in the same database:
Promoted to Full Priv on 01 May 1862.

I would never rely on Ancestry.com’s abbreviated transcriptions of the Combined Service Records, as they can be hugely inaccurate.

I looked at Joseph S. Coiner’s record in Fold3, and all seems to be in order. He rose from private to sgt major, to 2nd lieutenant, and 1st lieutenant, before being killed 5/12/64.

As for the Virginia Regimental Histories Series “database”, I have a huge problem with said “database”, especially as one of the authors who transcribed information directly from the service records for seven of the books, and saw nothing about permission being granted for use by a third party, in a subscription paid service.

If you want the most accurate information on service records, you should go directly to the service records, which, fortunately, have been added to the Fold3 system for easy access (in my time, I either went to the National Archives or the Library of Virginia, to scroll through multiple reels of microfilm, to get the job done). For the most part (depending on just how much time a particular author spent transcribing the service records… and yes, some didn’t do a thorough job), you should find the same in the rosters of the Virginia units, usually found in the back portions of the regimentals.

If you are interested in looking up War Between the States records, here’s your chance to do it for free for a limited time! Read below:

Ancestry.com and the National Archives Release Millions of Civil War Records Online for the First Time to Honor the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War
Nearly 25 Million National Archives Civil War Records Documenting Lives and Service of Union and Confederate Soldiers Available Free to Public at Ancestry.com From April 7-14
U.S. Politics Today
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Hello, Robert. I regret it has taken so long to locate this blog, but I hope your interest in this story is still as strong as mine. Thomas Clagett Suter was my great grandfather and the subject of much research on my part over the last several years. My research can be found in the Suter Family Tree, publicly posted in Ancestry.com.

Much of your findings are consistent with mine, and I have a theory about Thomas’ service. His mother, Malinda Wilen, was a twin and her sister, Anne Maria, was married to Thomas’ uncle, Martin Suter. Martin resided in Chicago and was a high-ranking member of the US Cavalry. A record of his recruiting trip to Hagerstown is in my tree.

The Wilens were from Martinsburg VA (now WV). It seems Thomas had numerous brothers and two were of fighting age at the outbreak of the war. The eldest, Charles Martin, enlisted in the Union army and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. William Henry, only 16, also enlisted in the Confederate Army.

My theory revolves around the fact the the Suters were not land-owners nor slave holders. I believe the younger brothers joined the Confederacy for reasons of principle. I believe the incarceration of 8 members of the Maryland State Assembly by the Federal Government and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus by Lincoln to prevent a quorum for the vote on secession drove the younger brothers to rebel. I believe Charles was among those who captured Thomas south of Martinsburg within weeks of his enlistment.

Thanks for commenting, Warren. It might be as you hypothesize, but I’m inclined to think that they were “pressed” unwillingly into the Confederate service. I think this because I believe this is what their service records indicate.

While we have an advantage of seeing all that was going on at the time, this can also be a disadvantage as we might tend to meld historical events into a single story. In the absence of anything tying their “enlistments” to the incarceration of 8 members of the Md State Assy, we just don’t know. I think their actual service records, including subsequent service with the Union, give us enough to suggest other possibilities.

[…] I posted a piece about Thomas C. Suter, and his change from gray (Confederate service) to blue (Union service…. I also posted a link to the piece on Western Maryland’s Historical Library’s Facebook […]